The state's high school seniors scored first in the nation in reading and near the top in math among 13 states whose scores were reported on a nationwide test.

Not only that, the state seemed to have put a substantial dent in the achievement gap between black and white students when it comes to reading. The narrowing comes as the gap nationwide grew larger.

New Fairfield Superintendent Alicia Roy, who leads four schools with about 3,200 students, was impressed with the decrease in the achievement gap.

"It's statistically significant," Roy said, even though it's a small sample number from 13 states. "If it's good, we need to get credit for it. Every piece of data we get gives you something."

The news comes after a blistering year for some of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's education reform efforts, which included the simultaneous roll out of broadly criticized Common Core curriculum standards and a teacher evaluation process that was to be based in part on a test that is still a work in progress.

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A Nation's Report CardThe National Assessement of Educational Progress is the largest continuing test given to a representative sample of students across the country. It measures how much students know and can do in core subject areas. The NAEP 12th grade reading and math tests were given in 2013. In addition to nationwide results, 13 states volunteered to get graded. Here is how they did:

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, a part of the U.S. Department of Education

"This is a milestone we should probably take 30 seconds and celebrate," Malloy said, interrupting a monthly state Board of Education meeting Wednesday. "I applaud the hard work and our students."

Malloy said the results on the test, called the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, confirm that the state is on the right road "as bumpy and as difficult" as it is and a real sign that progress is being made.

"It's one set of data," said New Milford assistant superintendent Josh Smith, whose district has six schools and 5,000 students. "What it does speak to is our reading programs, our math programs and our instructional focus in the state. But we wouldn't want to make any radical changes in our (local) programs based on one or two sets of scores.

"According to the data, we are moving in the right direction. It's a harder place to be because it's harder to improve when you're at the top, so it says something."

Joseph Cirasuolo, executive director of the state's superintendents' association, said what is significant to him is that the scores are measuring what students know once they leave school.

"What is important is what can young people do and what do they know when they leave us," Cirasuolo said.

"This is very good news."

The results show Connecticut seniors making gains in both subjects since the test was last taken four years ago, even as scores for seniors nationwide remained essentially flat.

"At no time in history has Connecticut eclipsed all of the other states in reading," Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor said of the test. "In reading, Connecticut is free and clear No. 1."

In 2013, Connecticut's average reading score was 299 out of a possible 500, an increase of seven points since 2009. The national average was 287.

Connecticut even jumped out ahead of Massachusetts, the state that traditionally tops the leader board when it comes to the so-called Nation's Report Card.

In Math, Connecticut posted a 160 out of a possible score of 300 in 2013, compared to 156 four years earlier. Nationwide, the average math score was 152. In math, 32 percent of Connecticut students left high school reading at a proficient or advanced level compared to just 26 percent nationwide.

In both subjects, the achievement gap between white and black students in Connecticut remained high but narrowed by nine points in reading -- from a 36 point gap in 2009 to a 27 point gap in 2013. Pryor said that is the first time he can recall that happening.

A Congressionally mandated test, the national assessment was given to a representative sample of 92,000 in January 2013 to last year's senior class across 1,970 schools in all 50 states. Of those, 13 states volunteered to release state-level results. In Connecticut, about 2,500 students took the test.

Danbury superintendent Sal Pascarella, who leads 18 schools and 10,000 students with more than half living in poverty, suggested that once all states have integrated the Common Core Standards into their curriculum in the next year, there will be some commonality among states to better measure state by state successes.

Burg said what probably helped Connecticut was that there seemed to be a shift between 2009 and 2013 in what was being taught. The number of students taking calculus by 12th grade, for instance, rose from 18 to 24 percent. On average, students exposed to calculus, scored higher. Likewise, students who reported being asked to discuss and interpret what they read in class, and who said they read every day, did better on the reading test.

The improved scores, Pryor said, were a result of commitment and investment. He also said there were other signs the state was moving in the right direction, between higher graduation rates and high scores on the Program for International Student Assessment, in which Connecticut also participated.

"Achievement at this very critical point in a student's life must be improved to ensure success after high school," he said.

In a prepared statement, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the flat results come despite the highest high school graduation rate in the nation's history and despite growth in student achievement at the elementary and middle school level.